Bradley Lee Gulden (born June 10, 1956) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) between 1978 and 1986 for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Baseball career and the original Humm-Baby

Gulden was born in

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm ( ) is a city and the county seat of Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River a ...

and graduated from Chaska High School near

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round (408th overall) of the

1975 Major League Baseball draft The 1975 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1975 MLB season. The draft saw the California Angels select Danny Goodwin first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Base ...

. In 1978, he played for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Fran ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, appearing in 125 games and posting a .294

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

along with eight

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 72

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI). Gulden's performance earned him a late-season promotion to the major leagues, where he made his debut on September 22, 1978, at the age of 22. MartinHunterGulden1979

On February 15, 1979, the Dodgers traded Gulden to the New York Yankees for

Gary Thomasson Gary Leah Thomasson (born July 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1980, most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Gi ...

. His offensive production declined in 1979, as he finished with a .248 batting average along with six home runs and 34 RBI in 80 games with the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. On August 3, , during the Yankees' first game after the death of

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

in an

airplane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

the previous day, Gulden replaced starting catcher

Jerry Narron Jerry Austin Narron (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager (baseball), manager, coach (baseball), coach, and former player. He is the current catching coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

in the ninth inning. Gulden started on August 6 in the team's first game after Munson's funeral, only to be replaced himself in the ninth by Narron. Gulden holds a place in

trivia by being one of four players in history to be traded for himself, along with Harry Chiti,

Dickie Noles Dickie Ray Noles (born November 19, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and the Baltimore Orioles between 1979 and 199 ...

, and John McDonald. On November 18, , the

sent him to the

with $150,000 for a player to be named and

Larry Milbourne Lawrence William Milbourne (born February 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1974–76), Seattle ...

. In May , the Mariners sent Gulden back to the Yankees as the player to be named. This kind of swap happened to Gulden again, as he was traded by the Yankees in April 1982 for catcher

Bobby Ramos Roberto Ramos (born November 5, 1955) is a Cuban former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos and the New York Yankees. Career Ramos was a catcher. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the se ...

— only to be sold back to the Yankees after the season. Meanwhile, Ramos was sold back to the Expos. One of the highlights of Gulden’s career occurred on May 30, 1984 when, as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, he hit a walk-off 3-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 14th inning off Don Robinson, giving the Reds a 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. At the beginning of the 1986 season, Gulden was with the

and fighting for a roster spot behind

Bob Brenly Robert Earl Brenly (born February 25, 1954) is an American baseball sportscaster and a former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a catcher with the San Francisco ...

and

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Melvin has been named Manager of the Year three times. S ...

. His hustle and work ethic inspired manager Roger Craig to nickname him a “Humm Baby”, because “he didn't have a lot of talent, but he gave you 180 percent; that's the way Brad (was). Humm-baby.” Gulden made the team as the third-string catcher, and Humm-Baby spread from only Gulden until it applied to the entire Giants team, and it eventually became synonymous with Roger Craig. He appeared in his final major league game with the Giants on September 28, 1986, at the age of 30. Gulden played in fewer than 10 games in four of his seven major league seasons and finished with a career batting average of .200.

References

External links

*Boxscore for August 3, 1979: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197908030.shtml *Boxscore for August 6, 1979: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197908060.shtml
Humm-Baby Article
- Original Coin of the Humm-Baby 20th Anniversary Article {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulden, Brad 1956 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Minnesota Bellingham Dodgers players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Danville Dodgers players Denver Zephyrs players Lodi Dodgers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball third basemen Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players People from New Ulm, Minnesota Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players Seattle Mariners players Spokane Indians players Tucson Toros players Wichita Aeros players